Calpe Town Council has filed a complaint with the Síndic de Greuges (Ombudsman) regarding the "inactivity of the Generalitat Valenciana" in relation to the construction projects of the new CEE Gargasindi and the Secondary School of the municipality. Specifically, the complaint, signed by the mayoress Ana Sala, reproaches the regional institution for not authorising the modification of the delegation of powers due to the increase in the budget of both projects, included in the Pla Edificant.
The construction project for the Gargasindi Special Education School was approved in the November plenary session with a base budget of 7,493,415 euros, almost two million euros more than the initial budget as a result of the increase in costs in recent years. The same has happened with the project for the new institute, which was approved in the December plenary session for a tender amount of 14,899,419.51 euros, 2,685,485.54 euros more than initially planned. On 19 December, the mayor signed the request for the modification of the delegation of powers for both projects without having received authorisation from the Generalitat (regional government).
The mayoress described the current situation in the municipality as an "educational emergency" due to the lack of educational infrastructures and the growing enrolment of students. This has led the Town Hall, at the request of the representatives of the schools and the AMPAS, to cede around 30,000 m2 of municipal land so that the Regional Ministry can install prefabricated classrooms for the pupils of the overflowing schools and a complete new IES. This was approved by the plenary session held this April and will mean that the Calpe town council will have to invest nearly three million euros in the adaptation of the land and the installation of water supply, electricity and sewage.
In the complaint sent to the Síndic de Greuges, reference is also made to the municipal secretary's report presented at the last plenary session, which indicates that Calpe Town Council cannot finance these works, which are the responsibility of the Generalitat, with its own budget, a measure that was considered by the municipal government to speed up these projects in order to make them a reality as soon as possible. In any case, the municipal secretary's report was sent a few days ago to the Consell Jurídic Consultiu for a ruling on the matter.
"From the municipal government we want to unblock as soon as possible the extreme situation that our municipality lives in education, we seek all solutions and resources that are in our hands and now we transfer what happened to the Síndic de Greuges de la Comunitat Valenciana to carry out the appropriate actions by the inactivity of the Generalitat in this matter. All this because we understand that article 27 of the Constitution - which includes the right to education - is being violated for the citizens of Calpe", said the mayoress Ana Sala.